A lot of positive emotions is caused by the mention of the beautiful flowers of tulips. Even young children know that the first spring sun and the arrival of my mother's holiday is an occasion for the acquisition of fragrant and bright bouquets. City squares in May are enlivened with placers of tulips. After gray and boring winter weekdays, they delight the eye in the village front gardens and country flower gardens.
Experienced flower growers have learned to grow these plants not only in flower beds, but also are engaged in the forcing of tulips at home. The timing of planting such bulbs is of interest to many beginning gardeners, as well as those who themselves want to grow these spring messengers in pots by March 8. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the rules for planting tulips in spring, autumn, and procedures for caring for them.
A little bit about the history of the flower
Tulip is a grassy bulbous plant of the Liliaceae family. Its tall varieties can reach a height of 1 m, and undersized - up to 10 cm. Initially, flowers appeared in the mountainous regions of the semi-desert and in the steppes of Central Asia.
Among plants with a short growing season, tulips confidently lead. No early-blooming flower can compete with them in the beauty of the flower, the variety of forms, unpretentiousness. In Europe, the plant has already flaunted on flower beds for about 500 years. Back in the 16th century, Byzantine merchants brought it to Vienna in trial lots. European flower growers appreciated the charm of inflorescences. The birthplace of a huge placer bulb is the current territory of Kazakhstan. It was there that the merchants bought them, and this began to bring them a good income.
The new perennial became very popular then in Italy, France, Holland. Europeans began to flower-tulip disease. Bulbs were bought by wealthy people and the poor. Thanks to this passion for tulips, hundreds of new incredible varieties and shapes have appeared. Today you can already enjoy unusual parrot and fringed varieties, as well as mysterious black tulips.
The leader in world sales and the cultivation of these beautiful bulbs are considered the Netherlands. The country annually sells millions of consignments of planting material. Love for beautiful tulips remains true, and many Russians.
Phased development of bulbs
Some gardeners talk about the unpretentiousness and simplicity of the agricultural technology of tulips, while others complain about unsuccessful attempts to grow them. To learn the truth and the conditions for planting tulips, you need to find out the structure of the bulbs and their life cycle. Every year, this plant is renewed from the primordia inside the bulbs. Thanks to this, flowers delight us for many years. The life expectancy of the bulb itself is 2 years. In the first year, the plant develops inside the maternal bulb, in the second year - independently. Young bulbs form daughter ones.
Being a typical ephemeroid, the tulip has a clearly defined period of vegetation and dormancy. The resting time is considered very important for the development of the plant, when a substitution point and young bulbs are laid between the scales. Some novice growers think that bulbs dug in the fall do not undergo any changes until spring. It's not like that at all.
After the autumn planting, the bulbs are overgrown with roots. In November, the primrose gives an underground shoot reaching the surface of the earth. In this state, the flower hibernates. In spring, the plant is actively developing, blooming. In the summer it is in a state of apparent rest. Indeed, during this time a new embryo forms in the bulb.
When to plant tulips?
It is best to plant tulips at home on the flower beds in the fall, when the temperature drops to +10 ° C. This is most often done in September - early October. By the onset of frost, the bulbs need to take root and adapt to the winter period. Before planting, the bulbs are disinfected with Maxim or Vitaros. If suddenly you didn’t have time in time for planting tulips, you can use the following tips:
- Plant the bulbs in November, only deepen them by 20 cm. Top them with peat and dry foliage.
- Store the bulbs on the windowsill, and apply in the early spring for distillation.
- Dip them in the cold cellar for the winter, and with the onset of heat, plant tulips in March in thawed soil. They will bloom closer to summer.
Bulb depth and place
Tulips originally grew in the semi-desert, so they love the sun. The lack of light leads to various deformations of the plant and the formation of weak bulbs. The soil for planting is needed dry, without stagnation of moisture. Prolonged presence of bulbs in moist soil leads to fungal diseases. To loosen the soil, sand, peat, and vermiculite are added to it. You should not plant tulips in a flower bed in the place where the bulbs used to be. This increases the risk of viral diseases.
Florists during planting are guided by the rule of three bulbs. It is at such a depth that the bulb is lowered in the dug hole. Excessive deepening leads to small inflorescences.
Bulb Interval
The distance between the bulbs when planting should be about 10 cm. Larger bulbs are planted away from each other. This contributes to better lighting and nutrition of the plant. Group spectacular planting of tulips is made in one common pit. The bulbs are evenly laid out at the same distance from each other, add fertilizer and cover with earth.
Recently, flower beds in tiers have gained popularity. Hyacinths are planted most deeply, then tulips, and on top of them are crocuses or muscari.
Location on a flower bed and proximity to other plants
Florists before planting are determined with the composition, where tulips are planted. To earlier flowers, for example, to daffodils, early flowering varieties are planted. Some like the combination of one shade, others like contrasting shades. Yellow tulips go well with blue muscari. White and bright red tulips are combined with sunny daffodils.
Late-flowering tulips fit the neighborhood with forget-me-nots, frankincense, early phlox, arabis. Sometimes in place of faded tulips annual plants are planted. Perennials with decorative leaves also look good with tulips. They can be combined with hosts, panicled phloxes, meadow geraniums.
Suitable fertilizers
To tulips quickly and amicably rose in the spring, in the fall fertilizers with potassium and phosphorus are added to the soil. These are slow-acting AVA granules or Autumn Fiasco.
With the advent of the first shoots, tulips are fed with urea, and in May - superphosphate. After top dressing, the soil must be watered or the procedure is done immediately after rain.
Soil moisture
During the growing season and flowering tulips need enough moisture, but not an excessive amount. Excess water leads to cracks in the bulbs and damage to various diseases. If there is little moisture, then the plant forms small buds, and the number of small young bulbs decreases.
It is important to observe the correct watering of tulips, which is rarely carried out. It will be enough to do this 3 times for the entire growing season, but very plentifully. The depth of water penetration should reach 35 cm, where the roots of the bulbs are.
Timely excavation
In the end of June - the beginning of July bulbs and children in the earth will already be formed. The stem of a tulip by this time will lose its fragility and become sluggish. So it's time to dig up. Being late can lead to the collapse of the nest and the loss of children, and premature digging promises not ripened material.
Dug out bulbs are sorted, distributed by grade and size. Then they are placed in special drawers with ventilation holes and put under a canopy to dry for 3 days. Then they are placed in a moderately warm room with air access (in the barn, in the attic). They are kept there until September, periodically checking the condition.
Planting tulips by March 8
Many are fond of growing bulbs on a windowsill or in a greenhouse. Planting tulips by March 8, New Year, Valentine's Day brings some good income for some. Indeed, before the holiday dates, flowers are especially in demand. Before choosing the bulbs, you need to ask about the color of the petals, the flowering period, the height of the stems, and resistance to disease. The most resistant varieties to diseases are Forester, Kaufman, Great.
What is the forcing of bulbs? Artificial cultivation is created under special temperature and light conditions, when the buds bloom much ahead of time. Large and healthy bulbs are selected for distillation.
After digging, such bulbs are stored until September. Then they are cooled at a temperature of +5 ° C and humidity - 90%. The best place to do this is the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. There, the seed material is stored for a month. In October, bulbs are planted in prepared pots or boxes. They fall asleep with river sand mixed with peat. Bulbs are buried next to each other at a distance of 2 cm.
The planted material is watered, lightly sprinkled with earth, so that only the tops of the bulbs are visible. Then they are watered with a solution of calcium nitrate (1 g per 1 liter of water). After that, the pots are brought into the basement or placed on a glazed balcony. The soil is moistened from time to time.
Shoots will appear in January, in a month they will grow by 3 cm. 30 days before March 8, the pots are brought into a room with ordinary lighting. It is best to spot them in a greenhouse. The best temperature for bud development will be +18 ° . Water the flowers with warm water. To get tulips for the New Year, they are taken out in October. To accelerate the growth of flowers, it is worth increasing the temperature a little.
What varieties to plant for distillation?
By the New Year, only those varieties are thrown out, the cooling of which should last at least two months. These are early flowering tulips. The following varieties are suitable for January distillation: Olga, Brilliant Star, Christmas Marvel, Lustige of the Battle, Apricot Beauty.
By March 8, planting varieties that bloom in medium terms are suitable. Most often they use Darwin hybrids: Apeldoorn, London, Diplomat, Scarborough, Oxford, Vivex.
By the April distillation use America, Apel Dorn, Gordon Cooper, Daydream, Parade, Burgundy Leys. By May 1, Negrita, Diplomat, Aristocrat, and Hibernia are driven out.
These are not all varieties that can be used for the artificial cultivation of tulips at home. If desired, other bulbs are grown along with tulips. Similarly, you can drive crocuses, hyacinths, irises, daffodils. If you correctly carry out all stages of distillation, then in winter or early spring, the buds will please you with their beauty and aroma.